Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has been critical over his former side seemingly missing out on Timo Werner who looks to be heading for rivals Chelsea instead.
After months of speculation linking the prolific 24-year-old with a move to Anfield, reports this week have suggested that Chelsea have agreed a deal in principle to sign him, thus paying his €55m release clause while it’s been noted that they have offered him a £200,000-a-week contract.
No official announcement has been made as of yet and so there is perhaps still time for the situation to change, but based on the latest reports, it does appear as though Werner will be heading for west London this summer.
Nicol has hit out at Liverpool over their failure to wrap up a deal for the German International, as he believes that Jurgen Klopp needs to continue adding quality and competition to his squad to ensure that they stay at the top.
Werner would certainly have pushed his preferred attacking trident to keep them on their toes and battling for a starting berth, but it looks as though that could now be a missed opportunity.
“I think it is [a mistake], yes,” he told ESPN, as seen in the video below. “Regardless of how good you are, you have to make sure you stay where you are at the very least. That means you need competition for places. No question, Werner would have given the front three – as great as they are and have been – it would have kept them on their toes. The front three of Liverpool can now breathe a little easier.”
That said, while he did reiterate his opinion that Liverpool may have made a mistake by not swooping, he also pointed out that ultimately Werner will have had a lot to do with it and perhaps he changed his mind.
It’s suggested by fellow pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft that Liverpool weren’t willing to pay his release clause and so that opened the door for Chelsea. Nicol is clearly disappointed at how things could now pan out.
“I think Liverpool have slipped up here,” he added. “Saying that, I wouldn’t be surprised if Werner had something to do with this. At the end of the day, if you want to go somewhere you can make it happen. It looks to me like Werner has changed his mind.”